Zuojin Pill (ZJP) is a classic Chinese herbal prescription with good efficacy in the treatment of Anxiety disorder (AD) and Major depressive disorder (MDD). Nevertheless, the potential mechanisms of ZJP remain unclear. Based on network pharmacology and molecular docking methods, this study aims to elucidate the possible mechanism of ZJP in the treatment of AD and MDD.

The components and targets of Rhizoma Coptidis and Fructus Evodiae were collected from TCMSP, ETCM, HERB, SWISSADME and STITCH databases. The disease targets related to MDD and AD were collected from DISGENET, GENECARDS and OMIM databases. Protein-protein interaction network was constructed by STRING database, GO and KEGG enrichment analysis was performed by METASCAPE database, and "drugs-components-targets network" was constructed by Cytoscape software. Molecular docking verification was performed by Sailvina2.0 software.

ZJP may act on AKT1, IL6, TNF and other targets through caffeine, isorhamnetin, berberine and other components, regulating the Inflammatory mediator regulation of TRP channels, Serotonergic synapse, Dopaminergic synapse, PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and other pathways. The results of molecular docking showed that berberine had the best binding activity with the core target.

ZJP can exert anti-anxiety and anti-depression effects through multiple components, multiple targets and multiple pathways.